Afghanistan will host India for a three-match T20I series, though in one of cricket’s odder arrangements, every match will actually be played in Delhi. The opener is set for September 13.
Match details
Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi (Afghanistan are the designated “home” side)
Date: September 13, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM IST
Team overviews
India arrive on the back of a dominant 2026 against Afghanistan already. They beat Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs in a one-off Test in June, then completed a 3-0 ODI sweep. Shreyas Iyer captains the T20I side with Tilak Varma as his deputy. The headline story is the recall of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah alongside Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, plus the return of Sanju Samson and Varun Chakaravarthy from injury/rest. Teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, fresh off becoming the youngest player to score a men’s T20I half-century, keeps his place after a strong Zimbabwe tour.
Afghanistan will be led by Ibrahim Zadran in his first assignment as full-time T20I captain, taking over from Rashid Khan (who remains in the squad). Naveen-ul-Haq returns from a shoulder injury to bolster the pace attack alongside Fazalhaq Farooqi and Abdullah Ahmadzai, while Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Mujeeb Ur Rahman give them a genuinely dangerous spin trio. Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib add experience in the middle order.
Key players
Jasprit Bumrah: Returning to India’s T20I setup for the first time since the T20 World Cup final in March, his new-ball and death-overs skills give India an edge in a format where he’s historically been almost unplayable.
Rashid Khan: Even without the captaincy, Rashid remains Afghanistan’s biggest match-winner, a spinner who can strangle the middle overs and hurt India’s batting depth on a used Delhi surface.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: The 15-year-old has shown he can take T20I attacks apart early, and a fearless start against Afghanistan’s pace could set the tone for India’s innings.
Ibrahim Zadran: Leading his side for the first time, Zadran will want runs at the top to anchor Afghanistan’s chase or set-up, having averaged well over 30 in the format across his career.
Head-to-head record
India have never lost a T20I to Afghanistan.
Matches played: 9
India wins: 8
Afghanistan wins: 0
No result: 1
The two sides’ last bilateral series, in India in January 2024, finished 3-0 to India, though Afghanistan pushed them to a Super Over in the decider.
Pitch report
Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium in September typically offers a good, true batting surface with even bounce, though dew is likely to be a factor under lights and could make chasing the more attractive option. Spin is expected to play a role, especially in the middle overs, which favours Afghanistan’s array of quality slow bowlers as much as India’s own.
Probable playing XIs
India
Abhishek Sharma
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Shreyas Iyer (Captain)
Tilak Varma
Sanju Samson (wk)
Shivam Dube
Axar Patel
Washington Sundar
Ravi Bishnoi
Arshdeep Singh
Jasprit Bumrah
Afghanistan
Sediqullah Atal
Ibrahim Zadran (Captain)
Darwish Rasooli
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)
Mohammad Nabi
Gulbadin Naib
Azmatullah Omarzai
Rashid Khan
Noor Ahmad
Fazalhaq Farooqi
Naveen-ul-Haq
Broadcast
India: Sony Sports Network and FanCode.
Other territories: not specified in available details.
Match prediction
On current form and history, India go in as clear favourites. Their bowling attack, boosted by Bumrah’s return, looked close to unplayable against Afghanistan earlier this year across both the Test and ODI series, and the batting has serious depth from top to bottom. Afghanistan’s spin trio of Rashid, Noor Ahmad and Mujeeb gives them a puncher’s chance of restricting India in the middle overs, and their own top order, particularly Zadran and Gurbaz, is capable of a big score if India’s quicks go for runs early.
But India’s overall superiority in this fixture (unbeaten in 9 meetings) and their recent dominance over Afghanistan across formats makes them hard to look past.
Prediction: India to win the first T20I.
